


I never meant to hurt you (this is something I have to do)

by DNAGraceless



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bi's, F/F, F/M, Minor Character Death, Sad, gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 00:18:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14738528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DNAGraceless/pseuds/DNAGraceless
Summary: Winter always knew she would  do anything for her sister. She just never imagine it would hurt so muchPreviously Whisky lullabySnowbirds, whiterose and minor bumbleby





	1. She put him out

The scene out the window was so idyllic Winter thought it might be a painting; green rolling hills, trees blooming with an array of bright flowers and only a gentle wind to remind her the view was in fact real. A casualty of growing up in Atlas – a colourful sight always seemed too good to be true.

She had wanted to do this in Atlas, but Qrow was in Mistral for the next two weeks and she needed this over as soon as possible.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Qrow said, lying down beside her on the bed.

Winter took a deep breath, holding her right hand tightly in an attempt to stop it shaking. She sat forward from the headrest, trying to summon her courage. _Just do it for Gods sakes. Think of Weiss._

“You okay?” Qrow asked, and she felt a sharp ache pierce her chest. He deserved so much better than her. She wanted to tell him she loved him, that he was the best thing that had happened to her in so long and that she never wanted to hurt him.

Instead what came out was, “I can’t do this anymore.”  
“Can’t do what?”  
“This. U-us.” She tried to look at him but couldn’t stand to see heartbreak on his face.

“What? Why?” she felt him sit up beside her.  
“I- it’s not working. We barely see each other and let’s be realistic it’s not going anywhere.” Every word was a lie, but whatever plan she had for ending the relationship had vanished from her mind and she just said whatever she could think of, whatever would make him angry enough to let her go.

“What are you talking about? Did something happen?”  
“Nothing happened I just…”

_Just tell him the truth!_

_No, he’ll talk me out of it!_

“I just don’t want to do this anymore.”  
Qrow leaned over, cupping her cheek and lifting her face to look at him. Winter tried to avoid his gaze, but as their eyes met she felt the warm tears well up in her eyes against her will.

“Winter, please,” he pleaded softly, “I love you. Tell what this is about.”

“It’s not about anything,” She moved away from him, standing from the bed. “I’m just done. It’s over.”  
“So, what?” Qrow asked, moving to stand as well. “we’re that easy to walk away from? The last year didn’t mean anything to you? All the work we put into it? Hell, I got sober for you!”  
“Good for you. But I can’t put any more energy into something that’s not going to last.”  
“Every time you told me you loved me,” he said, stepping towards her, trying to take her hand. Winter took a step back, crossing her arms across her stomach, “Every time we kissed or spend all night talking or have sex, was that all just something to do to pass the time?” he asked desperately. “Look at me God damnit!”

Winter jumped, finally looking at him. She didn’t think she’d ever seen such desperation in a mans face, even in his last moments.

“I’m sorry,” It was the first honest thing she had said, and the last. With those broken words she turned, walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

 

 

 

 

 

As the latch closed Qrow felt his legs give out. Had that really just happened? Winter had just thrown everything away in a manner of minutes. His chest hurt. He could barely breath. How could she have done this to them?  
His legs gave out and he fell against the bed. His mind played every time she had smiled at him, every time they kissed, every time they fell asleep together, every time they fucked or snuck off to see each other. He had changed so much, _they_ had changed so much over the last year he barely recognised them. He hadn’t had a drink since he realised he was in love with her over a year ago, she was much less uptight than before. She had been by his side through the mess with Raven and becoming sober and he had supported her through her family breakdown and her mother’s death.

And it didn’t mean anything to her.

He grabbed the vase from the bedside table and threw it at the wall, watching the shards and flowers scattered on the floor. It looked like he felt.

Qrow spent the night in a tree in his bird form, unable to stay in the room he had booked for them. As the sun rose the next day, he flew to the airport, buying a ticket for the first ship back to Vale.

 

 

 

 

 

Winter stood on the other side of the door, her hand in a fist pressed hard to the door frame as tears poured from her eyes. Her teeth were gritted painfully. She didn’t know how long she was there before the sound of something breaking in the room jolted her out of it and she forced herself to walk down the hall, down the stairs, and outside. Pulling her hood up over her hair she reached into her pocket for scroll, finding her airship ticket. She had to wipe away the tears from her eyes before she could make out the time. 11:30 pm. The time was 9:59. With a sigh and a suffocating ache in her chest, Winter slipped her scroll back into her pocket and began the walk to the airfield.

 _This was the right thing_ she told herself, over and over again. _It’s you or Weiss._

Winter knew she would do anything for her sister. She just never realised ‘anything’ would ever feel liked her heart was being ripped out.


	2. Chapter 2

The storm had taken Winter by surprise. One second the sun was shining on the snowbanks outside, then Winter blinked, and a flurry of white was raging outside the window.   
 “Miss Schnee?” called a soft voice tentatively, snapping Winter back to reality. She looked in front of her at the latest model, sitting up straight. The woman stood before her in a white wedding dress, and Winter fought the urge to be sick.

“No,” Was all Winter said, turning her attention back to the window. She heard the slightest sigh from the girl, who then left the room to change. She appeared a few minutes later in a frilly ballgown and had barely set foot in the room when Winter vetoed it.

“Put the laptop away Weiss,” Winter sighed, staring out the window.

“If you’re going to marry someone for me I want to now everything about him,”  
“He’s a good person,’ Winter said monotonously. Hell, he was a goddamn catch.

Benjamin Gold was the eldest son of a successful weapons design company stationed in Vale. She had met him for the first time yesterday, and he had been the perfect gentleman. He was tall, handsome, kind, and about as reluctant towards the marriage as Winter was; it should have been easy for them to bond over the complicated situation, but Winter had been as cold and unwelcoming as her name foretold. Nevertheless, he had attempted to make small talk, trying to get to know her personally before even broaching the subject of marriage.

“This whole thing is ridiculous!” Weiss cried, closing her laptop. “How can he do this?”  
“He still owns the company. Unless you have some way to put it off until he relents the company or died, this is the only way you’re going to get the company.”  
“He’s a monster. He’s only doing this to control us after he’s gone. You shouldn’t have to do this for me. It’s not fair.”

Winter moved over to sit beside her, taking her hand, “Weiss, you’re my little sister. I’m not going to stand by and watch him control every facet of your life. You’re going to do amazing things, but not if you’re under his control. Please, trust me to do this.”

Weiss looked up at her, blinking away the tears welling up in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Winter.

“I love you Winter.”

“I love you too Weiss. Now wipe your eyes,” Winter pulled away, wiping the tears away before they had the chance to fall. “We need to pick my wedding dress before I die of boredom.” She brushed the tears away, forcing a smile for Weiss.

A dozen dresses later and Winter chose a plain and simple dress her father would hate just to end the monotony of the process. As she and Weiss drove home she couldn’t help but let her mind wander again.

 

_“Winter, please, I love you. Tell what this is about.”_

_“Every time you told me you loved me, every time we kissed or spend all night talking or fucked was that all just something to do to pass the time?”_

Winter closed off her emotions, keeping them locked away until Weiss was dropped off at her apartment. As the car drove away, Winter rested her forehead against the cold glass, feeling the warm tears slip down her cheeks.

_I love you. I’m so sorry._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment I'd love to hear your feedback


	3. She never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter meets her fiance

The scroll on the nightstand buzzed. Winter grabbed it, feeling her heart sink as Benjamin’s name flashed across the screen. Dropping the scroll, she rolled over in bed. She knew it had been too much to hope that it would be Qrow. He had probably deleted her number as soon as she left.

Squeezing her eyes shut, her mind began to drift to the previous day.

 

 Winter had been on her way to the lunch meeting with her father and Jorah, Jacques new protégé. He had needed a replacement after Whitley has pulled himself out from under their father’s thumb. Jorah was a slimy, skinny, shifty, smooth talking thing about Winter’s age whose lingering gaze made both Schnee daughter’s immensely uncomfortable.

 “Would you shut up? Marrying him isn’t going to kill you.” Jacques said, rolling his eyes. Winter glared at him from the opposite seat in the limo.

“I’m not going shut up because you could have made this deal without selling one of us off.” Winter snapped.

“The deal was time sensitive and Jeffrey Golden isn’t a man to mess around,”  
“He’s a figurehead; if his son had any backbone he could have made the deal without involving marriage,”  
“Well can you blame him?” Asked Jorah “Any man would leap at the opportunity to marry such a fine young woman,” she saw his tongue slip out to lick his lips, his eyes falling to her chest.

Winter glared at him fiercely and a glyph appeared under Jorah’s chin, a small nevermore shooting out against his chin, sending his head back against the glass partition.

“That’s enough Winter!” Jacques shouted angrily. Winter sat back against the seat, turning her glare out the window.

  
The Platinum Room was her father’s go to meeting room. Winter hadn’t been there in a wonderfully long time, but an uncomfortable familiarity set in immediately upon stepping into the foyer.

“Behave yourself Winter; your sister’s future is on the line here,” Jacques said as they waited to be seated. Winter took a deep breath, bracing herself for the hellish lunch to follow.

They were waiting at the table for less than five minutes when Jeffrey and Benjamin Golden arrived at the table.

“Jacques, a pleasure.” Jeffrey said, taking her fathers hand. Jeffrey was an overweight man in his seventies, leaning heavily on his cane as he shook Jacques hand. He was almost as pale as the Schnee’s, with receding hair that had once been blonde. Winter only knew that because she had seen pictures in the research Weiss had done. He wore a dull black suit that was too long and a white dress shirt that was too tight.

“And this must be Winter.” He grinned, holding his hand out for Winter. Winter shook it, resisting the urge to squeeze harder than necessary. “A pleasure,”  
“Likewise,” Winter lied.

“Allow me to introduce you to my son, Benjamin,” He gestured to the young man behind him.   
Benjamin had clearly inherited his looks from his mother’s side of the family. He was a tall, classically handsome young man with thick dark honey coloured hair and pale, bright yellow eyes. He wore a tasteful blue suit that fit him perfectly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you miss Schnee,” He said in a smooth, pleasant voice. Winter shook his hand, surprised at how… instantly _good_ he seemed.

“Likewise,”  
“Well,” Jeffrey clapped his hands together, “let’s get the legalities over with so these two can get to know each other.”  
“Wonderful idea,” Jacques agreed.

They sat in the small personal dining room as the men banged out the final details and signed the final documents. Winter and Benjamin sat as their fathers decided their future.

“Wonderful,” Jacques said as Jorah slipped their copy of the documents into his bag. “Let’s eat,”

They ordered, Winter getting the blandest thing she could find as the unease in her stomach grew, the minutes ticking by.

“So I heard you’re a huntress,” Benjamin said, leaning over slightly to speak to her, “What’s that like?”  
“Fine,” Winter said distantly. She didn’t have a lot of interest in getting to know him.  
“I’ve always admired huntsmen and huntresses. Have you always wanted to do that?”  
“Yes,”  
“You were never interested in taking over the company?”  
“No.”

Ben nodded, looking down at his food. “This is going well,” He said.

Winter didn’t know what came over her, but without her consent she felt a smile tug at her lips. She quickly quelled it.

“Do you like to travel? I imagine that’s a big part of working as a huntress.”  
“It is,” She said, trying to be less hostile. “and I do.”  
“I love to travel; work takes me everywhere. Did you design your own weapon?”  
“I did.” Winter nodded.  

Pleasant conversation continued on for the rest of the meal, and Winter was surprised when their fathers declared the lunch over.

“The wedding preparations should be done in a matter of weeks.” Jeffrey said as he stood, “I did want something a bit more elaborate, but my boy here didn’t want to make a big fuss about himself. I wouldn’t mind a boy a bit less humble sometimes you know,” He joked, clapping Benjamin on the shoulder. Benjamin pretended to smile until his father turned away to address Winter. “It was lovely to meet you Ms Schnee,” He said, shaking her hand.

“Likewise,” She said, unpleasantly surprised that it hadn’t been a lie.

 

Sitting in the car on the way back, Winter was two seconds away from reaching over and smacking the smug look of Jorah’s face.

“Was that so bad?” Her father asked.

“You do know that for most people marriage isn’t the same as a business lunch?” She asked sarcastically. Jacques gave her a short glare before returning his attention to his scroll.

“You two seemed to be comfortable around each other.” Jorah commented.

“I’m going to kill you,” Winter promised him.

“Stop saying that Winter,” Jacques said, not looking up from his scroll.

Winter glared at both of them, pulling her scroll out of her pocket as it vibrated. A message from…

Tai?


	4. He put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger

The room in the home in Patch was a mess; clothes everywhere, the bed askew, glass shattered by the window. Qrow sat against the wall, an unopened bottle of whiskey in his hands. Blood trickled down from the cuts on his knuckle, his hands shaking violently.

It had been two weeks since Winter had ended their relationship and left him, broken and alone in Mistral. He still hadn’t wrapped his head around the break up. It felt like he was in mourning. And he was, in a way; Winter had sobered him up, got his life together; she had made him a better person, as awfully cliché as it sounded. But clichés were there for a reason after all.

Qrow looked at the bottle of Whiskey in his right hand and the sobriety chip in his left. He hadn’t had a drop in fourteen months and eight days. It had been a Wednesday when he stopped drinking, and every Wednesday since they started dating that they were lucky enough to be together she would kiss him, run her fingers through his hair and tell him how proud of him she was. He had never had someone tell him they were proud of him before. Two weeks without her and he was suffering withdrawals worse than when he gave up alcohol.

A knock at the door made him jump, dropping the bottle.

“Qrow?” Tai called, opening the door.

“The door was locked,” Qrow slurred from exhaustion. “How the hell did you get in here?”  
“It’s my house,” His friend said, closing the door and kneeling down. “I have a key. You haven’t answered my calls or the door when I sent Ruby up to check on you.”  
“Didn’t hear her,”  
“I figured.” Tai sighed, noticing the blood on Qrow’s hands. “What did you do?”  
“Broke the window. Sorry, just kinda happened.”

Tai stood, walking into the bathroom and returning a minute later with a damp cloth.

“I don’t need you babying me,” Qrow snapped.

“That is exactly what you need. You haven’t eaten in days, you haven’t slept in days, _you’re bleeding._ ” He grabbed Qrow’s wrist, wiping away the blood.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” he asked. “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it has something to do with Winter.”  
“That obvious?”  
“You don’t have a lot else going on in your life. That and Ruby told me what was going on with Weiss.”  
“Yeah. Wait what?”

“The… the engagement?”  
_“What?”_

“… You didn’t know?”  
“Does this look like the face of someone who fucking knew Tai? What engagement?!”

“I think you should hear it from her…”  
“Well she’s not answering my fucking phone calls just tell me!”  
Tai inhaled and exhaled deeply. “Apparently, Winter and Weiss’ father made some deal with the Golden company to save the company. Weiss was supposed to marry the next head of the company, but Winter took her place, so Weiss wouldn’t have to get married.”

Qrow collapsed against the wall, the air rushing out of his lungs. She was getting married? How could she not tell him?  
“I’m so sorry Qrow.” Tai said with all the sincerity her had. Qrow wiped his face, only realising he was crying as his tears stung the cuts on his hand.

“Fuck me,” He muttered, pushing himself to his unsteady feet, grabbing the bottle. “Fuck! How could she not tell me?”

“Come on Qrow, don’t do anything stupid,” Tai said, standing up. Qrow unscrewed the to of the bottle, some of it spilling as he gestured wildly.

“Of course, she’s fucking engaged. Because this was too goddamn good to be true. She’s the fucking- Atlassian equivalent of a fucking princess, and I was stupid enough to think she’d settle for _me!_ ” He laughed without humour, “What the fuck is wrong with me?!”  
“Qrow, calm down!”

Qrow ran his fingers through his hair raising the bottle to his lips and gulping down as much as he could before Tai ripped the bottle from his hand.

“What the fuck Qrow! You’ve been sober for a year you’re just gonna throw that away!”  
“Why the fuck no-!” Qrow cut himself off, clutching his stomach. He ran past Tai into the bathroom, falling to his knees in front of the toilet, throwing up bile and what little he had in his stomach. When he was done he collapsed, resting his head against the cool porcelain as he sobbed. He felt Tai sit beside him, a hand on his back.

“I’m so, so sorry Qrow. I know how bad it hurts, I know it feels like you can’t breathe. She changes you so much, when she leaves she takes the best part of you. Drinking isn’t going to make it easier Qrow, you know that.”

“What do I do?” Qrow asked through the tears.

“You live for what you have left. You still have a family, and when you’re ready we’re still gonna be here for you.”

Qrow didn’t know how long he laid there until he let Tai help him back into the bedroom, lying him on the bed, bandaging his hands.

“Get some sleep,” Tai said, emptying the dustpan full of glass into the bin. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”  


Tai sat down in his living room, pulling out his scroll and searching for Winters number. He debated calling her and yelling for several minutes, before deciding that probably wouldn’t help the situation, and that she was probably just as upset as Qrow was and decided on a text.

_Hi Winter. I spoke with Qrow, he’s taking the break up pretty hard. Ruby explained the situation but if this is how you two end you owe him more than some half assed break up in the middle of a mission. Call me when you get the chance, we need to work this out_

Okay, so it wasn’t completely rational, but it got his point across.


	5. Chapter 5

“Is it just me does he just ruin everything he touches?”   
“It’s not just you.”  
“This is your last chance to get out of this.”  
Winter looked over at her sister, not amused. “I’m not backing out and if you say it again I’m going to hurt you.”  
Weiss sighed. As she watched her sister try on her wedding dress, se couldn’t help but feel like this was all her fault.  “Have you heard from Benjamin?”  
“We’ve been texting. He’s annoyingly polite and interesting.”  
“I mean, there are worse people to marry,” Weiss said weakly, “He’s not a huntsman so you could easily crush him if he tried anything,”  
Winter laughed, looking at herself in the mirror. The dress was nothing special, but it was comfortable, and it didn’t make her want to throw up, so… it had that going for it.

“How is there only two weeks left?” Weiss asked softly.  
“Because there were only eight weeks to begin with.”

 “We should kill him.”

“Sounds like fun,”  
“Is he walking you down the aisle?”  
“He insisted, for propriety sake.” Winter disappeared behind the curtain to change.  
“I swear, I’m not getting married until he’s dead,” Weiss said, shaking her head.

“He’s going to live forever out of sheer spite,”

Weiss looked over at her sister as Winter came back out in her coat and pants. Winter sat beside Weiss, resting her head against the back of the seat.

“Have you spoken to Qrow?”  
“No.”  
“I think you should.”  
“You think or Ruby thinks?”  
“Both. He’s not sitting in his room all day, but he’s still completely depressed. He’s a good guy.”  
“I know he is,” She snapped. “I’m sorry,”  
“I know. I know this hasn’t been easy on you,” Weiss said sympathetically. “But don’t you think, after all you two went through together he deserves a proper explanation? That he deserves to know it wasn’t because of him?”  
Winter propped her head up on her hand, resting her elbow on the arm of the chair. “I… I wouldn’t know what to say to him. I just feel like if I heard his voice, I wouldn’t be able to go through with it.” She admitted softly.

“Winter I love you, and I appreciate what you’re doing for me more than I could ever say, but doesn’t that seem kind of… well, selfish?”  
“Of course it’s selfish. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done but I don’t know how I can fix it.” There was a knock at the door, and Klein stuck his head into the room.

“Ms Schnee, your father wishes to speak to you a moment,”  
“Thank you Klein,” Winter said tiredly, dismissing him. Winter stood without a word, heading to their father’s scroll.

Weiss looked over at the table by the chair Winter’s wedding dress was on where her sister’s scroll lay, and began plotting.


	6. Chapter 6

Winter looked nice today. She hadn’t tried; if anything, she had tried to play it down, but no matter what she did she just looked really nice.

“Why are you doing this?”  
“Weiss-”

“Not the marriage,” Weiss clarified, “The date.”  
“It’s not a date,” Winter said sternly. “I’m just getting to know him,”  
“Going out to get to know the man you’re going to marry; sounds like a date to me.”  
“It’s not,” She snapped. “I have to spend the rest of my lie with him. I just want to know what I’m getting myself into.”  
“So this is just… a recon mission?”  
“Exactly.”  
Weiss groaned in frustration, throwing her Scroll at the end of the bed.

“What’s wrong?” Winter asked, grabbing her own scroll from the nightstand.

“Ruby. She’s upset about Qrow. I didn’t think it was possible for her to be passive aggressive before.”  
“Do you want me to talk to her?” Winter asked sarcastically; she had no intention of getting more entangled in this than she already was.

“Have fun on your date.” Weiss snapped.

Winter left her to sulk in the room, bracing herself for possibly the most unpleasant recon job she’d ever been on.

 

 

“I feel like we should have done this a bit sooner,” Ben said with a nervous laugh as they walked through the gardens at the Schnee estate.

“Well I’ve been quite busy, “Winter explained, “not wanting to.”

Ben nodded, before making yet another attempt at a pleasant conversation. “What’s life like in the military? You’re a specialist, yes?”  
“It’s fine.” She sighed. “I was actually thinking of retiring, being a huntress full time,”  
“You’d still be under General Ironwood’s jurisdiction, wouldn’t you? Would it be that different?”  
“No.” She said, working her jaw, “it wouldn’t.”  
Several minutes of uncomfortable silence passed, before Benjamin spoke. “I’m not doing so great, am I?”

Winter took a deep breath. “It’s nothing personal.”  
“I know this isn’t an ideal situation. For what it’s worth I truly admire what you’re doing for your sister.”  
“Thank you,”  
“If I can ask, are you really opposed to marriage, or just marriage for business?”  
Winter chose her words carefully. “I’ve been quite opposed to the idea of marriage for most of my life. My parents didn’t leave the best impression of married life and being strongarmed into it isn’t how I imagined it would happen.”  
“If I may ask, I don’t mean to pry, but… were you seeing anyone before this all happened?”  
The question stopped Winter dead in her tracks. “What?”  
“I was just curious,” he added quickly, “I know this came out of nowhere,”  
“That’s none of your business,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest. She knew that was as good as admitting it, and he knew it as well, a look of sympathy forming on his face.

“We’re you together long?”  
“It’s none of your business!” She repeated angrily. “It’s over, what more do you want?”  
“I don’t want you to be angry or miserable the rest of your life.”  
“Well there’s not a lot we can do about that is there?”  
“I’m sorry-”

“Stop saying you’re sorry.”  
“Ms Schnee – may I call you Winter?”  
“Why the hell not?”  
“Winter; we’re to marry in five days. You’re clearly getting the worse end of the deal here; I’d like to make this as easy on you as possible. This is a business deal. I don’t think it should stop you from being happy.”  
Winter raised an eyebrow, suspicious. “Meaning what exactly?”  
“If you… deeply cared for this other person, I don’t want to stand in your way.”  
“The marriage kind of puts a damper on that sentiment,”  
“If you still want to be with him, all I ask is your discretion.”  
Winter thought a minute, then exhaled, “That’s not good enough,”  
“I don’t know what else I can do.”  
“There’s nothing you or anyone can do to make a situation where I end up marrying someone else any better. Just leave it alone.”  
“So we’re to spend our lives ignoring each other and putting on a façade for the public?”  
“I’ll give it a shot,” Winter started to walk off.

“I can give you more than that,” He called after her. Winter stopped and turned to look at him.

“There’s nothing you can give me that would be enough.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because I don’t want it from you.”

And Winter turned away again, and walked back towards her cold and unwelcoming home.


	7. Chapter 7

“I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Tai said from the doorway.

“Yeah, neither do I,” Qrow admitted, closing his back and slinging it on his shoulder. “But I need to see her.”  
“She’s getting married tomorrow.” Tai pointed out. “she hasn’t called, she hasn’t so much as sent a text.”  
“Tai, come on. I pulled you through years of hell after Summer died-”

“And I’m trying to return the favour!” Tai cried, stepping into the room. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you as devastated as when you showed up here. Seeing her is just going to drag out the healing process.”  
“Look you said it yourself, I need closure, or whatever. Just trust me here.”  
Tai sighed, shaking his head. “Fine. Please don’t do anything stupid.”  
“Yeah sure thing Tai,” Qrow clapped a hand on his shoulder as he passed his friend on his way out.

 

 

“I can’t believe it’s tomorrow,” Whitley said as he looked at the staff working tirelessly to finish the decorations in the great hall.

“Me either,” Weiss agreed.   
“How is she?”  
“Depressed. She’s been staring at her scroll all morning trying to call him.”  
“Do you think she will?”  
Weiss thought for a minute. “No. If she hasn’t called yet she won’t now.”  
“I feel so bad for her,” Whitley sat on one of the seats in the front row, looking up at the altar, “I never thought she would actually get married.”  
“Neither did I,” Weiss sat across the aisle from him. “She always said she had such a negative association with it,”  
“I can’t imagine this is going to help.”  
“What are you two doing in here?” Jorah’s falsely sweet voice came from behind them. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”  
“The wedding’s not til tomorrow James,” Whitley snapped. If being cast aside by his father hurt, Jacques little pet project being moved in so soon after was salt in the wounds.

“Well, anyway you two best clear out; the planners need to run through everything to make sure it’s ready for your sisters big day,”  
Weiss and Whitley both stood and walked out, each smacking Jorah’s shoulders as they passed. Immature, perhaps, but it made them feel good.


	8. She tried to drink the pain away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This continues on immediately after the last chapter. I would have posted it as one, but I wasn't finished and I wanted to go see deadpool

“What are you going to do after all this?” Weiss asked, walking with Whitley into the foyer.

“I suppose I’ll attend university,” He shrugged, “Not much point in letting this ruin more than it already has. Do you think Winter will continue to work for the military?”  
“Probably,” Weiss sighed. She looked up the curving stone staircase; Winter would be up there. Weiss wandered if she had given up on calling Qrow yet. “I should check on her,” She decided.

“I’ll be sabotaging things in the garden if you need me,” Whitley said, walking off. Weiss gave a short laugh and began trekking up to the third story of her home, looking for Winter’s room.   


“Winter?” Weiss called as she knocked on the door of her sister’s childhood bedroom. She received no reply, so she knocked again, this time pressing her ear against the wall to listen; it was a large room after all. “Winter?” A crash came from inside and Weiss tried the handle, discovering it was locked. Stepping back, Weiss activated her semblance. A Glyph appeared around the handle and she heard a click and pushed the door open. Weiss’ eyes darted around the room until she spotted her sister.

Winter sat on the edge of the lounge, her cardigan slipping down her shoulders. Her hair was a mess, falling down her bare shoulders and to her waist.

“Winter?” Weiss said slowly, walking over to her, careful to avoid the shattered glass around Winter’s bare feet.

That was when Weiss saw the wine bottle clutched in her hand.

“Are you _drinking_?” Weiss asked, shocked. Winter didn’t look up, but Weiss could see the tears falling down her cheeks and falling from her chin. She carefully stepped forward, brushing the glass aside with her heels and crouched down in front of her sister. “Winter?” She repeated softly, carefully putting her hand on Winter’s forearm.

“I… I tried,” Winter said, her voice shaking and weak. “I tried to call him. He hung up on me. I-I don’t know what I was expecting,” She sobbed, “I just wanted to hear his voice.”

Weiss moved to sit on the lounge, wrapping her arms around Winter. She tried her best to console her as her sister sobbed into her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry Winter,” Weiss said, feeling tears well up in her own eyes. She’d never seen Winter cry like this before.

“It’s my fault.” She said, her voice thick with misery. Weiss rubbed her back, trying to get her to calm down and trying not to be sick at the smell of wine on Winter’s breath. The bottle slipped from Winter’s cold hand, clanking to the floor and spinning, dark drops of wine spilling onto the stone floor until it stopped, lying still by her foot.

“Do you want me to see if I can get Ruby to talk to him? He might listen to her,”  
Winter pulled away, her eyes unfocused and glassy; Weiss didn’t like how much she resembled their mother, “No I- I need to leave him alone.” She wiped her face. “He want’s to be left alone; it’s the least I can do,” Her words were slurred.

“Fine, but you need to sleep,” Weiss took her sisters hand – careful to avoid the glass – and guided her to her bed, lying Winter down and wrapping the blanket around her. She retrieved a glass of water and a few painkillers, placing them by the bed for when she woke up. When she returned Winter had passed out.

Weiss cleaned up the room, finding another bottle of wine empty under the lounge. She sighed and placed both bottles in the bin. How had she even gotten them? The house had been dry since Willow’s passing last year – she had been found dead in the garden, a bottle of wine clutched in her hand. Weiss had felt a sickening and terrible sense of déjà vu when she found Winter.

Weiss stayed with Winter until Ruby had called, saying she was in Atlas and she wanted to talk. Weiss checked on Winter one last time, sent a text to Whitley asking him to check on her later and headed out to meet her girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Just a few chapters left, let me know what you think


	9. Chapter 9

When Winter awoke she felt sick. She ran to the bathroom on memory alone and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet, heaving painfully until she had nothing left. She washed her mouth out and slunk against the cabinet. The cool tiled floor felt good against her feverish body.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before Winter pushed herself to her feet. She meandered back into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of her bed. Someone knocked at the door and she almost cried out in surprise.

“Hello?” She called.

“Winter?” Whitley’s voice called. “Are you alright?”  
Winter walked over to the door and opened it. “I’m fine.”  
“You don’t look fine,” Whitley said dubiously.

“I am, I promise. Where’s Weiss?”  
“She had to leave. Apparently Ruby wishes to talk things out.”  
_Lucky her_ , Winter thought.

“Do you need anything?” Whitley asked.

“No, thank you. I think I’m just going to have a shower and go to bed.”  
Whitley nodded, and turned to leave, before stopping and turning back. He hesitated, and said, “I… I know we aren’t as close as we used to be, but if you needed to talk I do hope you would be able to confide in me,”

Winter pursed her lips, pushing herself from the doorframe. She stepped forward and hugged her brother, somewhat surprised when Whitley hugged her back tightly.

As they pulled apart Winter spoke, “I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you as much as I should have been. I’ll try to be around more often, I promise,”  
Whitley nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry. For everything.”  
“You don’t have everything to apologise for. Go get some rest; we’ve got a big day tomorrow,”  
Whitley nodded and walked off. Winter closed the door, leaning up against it and flicking the lock, mostly out of habit.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked herself softly. She grabbed her cardigan from the bed and walked over to the balcony, pushing the doors open and stepping into the chilly night air.

“You’re gonna catch a cold like that,”  
Winter cried out in surprise, spinning around to the source of the noise and slipping on a patch of snow.

“Easy there, Ice Queen.” Qrow said, steadying her.

“Qrow?” She asked, shocked.

Qrow gave that handsome, cocky half grin she adored. “Hey Win,”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: brief description of suicide

Winter steadied herself and rubbed her eyes. “I must still be asleep,” She muttered to herself, shaking her head.

“Afraid not,” Qrow said, reaching over and pinching her arm.   
“Ow! Arse!” She punched his arm, glaring up at him. Qrow smiled down at her and Winter felt the unease and nerves flare up almost instantaneously. “What are you doing here Qrow?” she asked softly. The wind picked her voice up and blew it away; if he hadn’t been so close he wouldn’t have heard her at all.

“Came to see you. Obviously. Can I come in?”  
Winter hesitated, then nodded, leading him inside. Qrow closed the door behind them, shutting out the frigid air.

“So, how have you been?”  
“Why are you here Qrow?” Winter asked with a sigh, turning to face him. “You didn’t come all this way for small talk.”  
“You’re good,” Qrow took a seat on the lounge she had almost passed out on that afternoon. “I guess congratulations is in order,” His eyes fell to the ring on her bedside table. Winter broke eye contact, sitting on her bed.

“Hardly a cause of celebration,” She sighed, pushing her hair back.

“Oh, so he’s not the love of your life?”  
“What do you want Qrow?” She asked genuinely. “Do you want to yell at me? Curse me out? Have at it, it’s the least I deserve.”  
Qrow didn’t say anything for a long moment, spinning the ring on his right hand. The tension had become suffocating when he finally spoke again.   
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” He spoke calmly, but it sent fear throughout her body. Not a lot of things terrified her more than the calm façade of a man who had every reason to be angry.

 _Qrow’s not your father_ she calmed herself before speaking.

“Because I knew you could talk me out of it.” She answered honestly, “And this is something I have to do.”  
Qrow nodded slowly. “You should have told me.”  
“I know. And I am more sorry than I could ever say; but there’s nothing I can do about it.”  
Qrow leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I g-” Qrow stopped talking as soon as he started, his eyes catching sight of the two bottles of wine under Winter’s nightstand. “Christ Winter, have you been drinking?”  
Winter followed his line of sight to the bottles and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Well I’m to be stuck in a depressing, loveless marriage for the sake of my family company,” She pushed herself off the bed, crossing her arms and crossing wandering to the middle of the room, “I suppose it’s my destiny to become my mother after all.”  
Qrow flinched at her words. Willow Schnee had died eight months ago in the family garden – a bottle of wine in her hand and blood from self-inflicted wounds on her wrists seeping into the pure white snow below her, her father’s old sword from his huntsman days lying beside the chair.

There hadn’t been so much as a note to the family left behind.

“Don’t say shit like that.” Qrow said, restraining his anger and fear.

“Why?” She shrugged. “I’m not your concern anymore. Why are you even here? I broke your fucking heart you should be screaming at me through the scroll not worried about me,” she grew increasingly worked up with each word.  
“Yeah well that’s not how it works,” Qrow cut her off, standing up to face her but maintaining his cool, which was more than could be said for Winter.

“Yes, it is,” Winter snapped, “That’s how it’s supposed to be. You’re supposed to find someone better!”  
“I don’t want someone better, I don’t want anyone else,”  
“That’s just bad luck then; you should be used to that.”  
“Don’t be a bitch Winter,” Qrow raised his voice for the first time.

“Just go!” She smacked his chest, pushing him away from her. “Why are you even here? For some worthless explanation? You could have asked me over the scroll what are you even doing here?!”  
“I had to see you!” he shouted back. “I couldn’t let you marry him without seeing you, before you become someone else’s!” his voice quietened again, “I had to see you before I lost you for good. I love you. You can yell at me, say whatever you want; but I still love you, like it or not.”  
Winter looked up at him, seeing the honesty, the gravity in his expression.

She shook her head, dropping it Qrow’s chest. “Why couldn’t you just hate me?”

Qrow wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him like a lifeline. “I told you; it doesn’t work like that.”  
“I love you Qrow,” She uttered, gripping his arm. “I love you so much it hurts.”  
Qrow hugged her close, before pulling back enough just to see her face. “I never wanted to make you cry,” he said, cupping her face in both hands and wiping away her tears.  
“It’s not your fault,” Winter said, lightly holding his wrist. Qrow pressed their foreheads together, basking in her touch.

“I love you,” He whispered like a prized secret, as he closed the distance between them, kissing her softly. Winter kissed him back, grasping his collar. Qrow wrapped his arm around her waist, the other slipping into her hair as they deepened the kiss.

Neither acknowledged what was happening, simply living in the relief and bliss of the moment as he laid her down on the bed. Their clothes were pulled off and thrown around the room, they pressed close to each, not wanting to lose a moments contact. They made love like it was their last night on earth, before falling asleep in tangle sheets and limps, their arms wrapped around each other as the sun rose on the cold Atlesian morning.

 


	11. Chapter 11

The sun was what woke Qrow the next morning. Blinking, he took in the luxurious bed, the silk sheets, and the beautiful woman beside him.

“This must be a dream,” He muttered softly, nuzzling her neck. Winter smiled, turning her head to look at him. Qrow raised his head and kissed her, soft, chaste kisses deepening as his hand slipped into her hair.

“I love you,” He said desperately.

“I love you too,” She pressed her chest to his, sinking into the feeling of the kiss.

“How long do we have?” He asked when they broke for air.

Winter rolled over, checking the time on her scroll. She sighed, falling back on the bed. “Half an hour.”  
Qrow sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Do you want to have a shower?”  
“… Yeah okay.”  
Qrow gathered his clothes from around the room and joined Winter in the bathroom. He stepped into the warm water behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

“I love you.” Winter told him  
“I know,” He said, kissing up her neck. “I love you too.”

They washed the stink of last night off and fogged up a few windows themselves before turning off the taps. Winter handed him a towel as they got out.

“How do you feel?” He asked, walking back into the bedroom where Winter sat, wearing a robe and brushing her hair.

“Sick,” she answered, brushing her hair over her shoulder. Qrow sat beside her, taking her hand.

“I want to see you again,” He said softly. Winter looked at him for a long moment and nodded.

“Okay,”  
Qrow nodded, rubbing his thumb over her hand. “I know it’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.”

Winter wrapped her arm around him and leaned in for a kiss. “I love you.”  
“I love you too. I have to go,”

Winter nodded, exhaling a shaky breath. “Can you say it again,” She asked softly.   
“I love you.” He told her, cupping her face, pressing his forehead to hers. “I love you, I love you.”  
Winter managed a weak smile, which Qrow returned. With a final kiss and the sound of flapping wings Qrow was gone. Winter wiped her eyes and stood; it was time to get ready for her wedding.


	12. Chapter 12

White halls.

White walls.

White carpet and white flowers.

A white reflection.

A blinding whiteness.

 

Winter was a stranger, walking down the halls she was raised in. She felt like she was in a trance as she walked down the grand staircase in her wedding dress, her heels clicking on the stone. Her father said something, but she didn’t hear him. Music played dully in her ears as they walked down the aisle on her fathers’ arm. People were standing on either side, the entire halls eyes on her. She looked up as they reached the altar.

Ben was handsome. His hair was style neatly and his black and gold suit brought out his eyes. He held out his hand for her and Winter took in.

As she stepped onto the altar, three things happened, almost simultaneously.

The doors to the hall closed with a loud bang, drawing Winter’s attention to the back of the room, her senses snapping back to her.   
A sharp pain exploded in her back, and she turned, her vision rapidly blurring to look at the officiant who had just plunged a syringe into her back.

And the roof exploded.

 

 

 

_“Winter. Winter! Winter!”_

Winter jolted awake with a shock of pain.

“Winter!” A voice exclaimed in relief.

Winter blinked, trying to clear her vision. “Weiss?” She asked, her voice filled with pain. “What happened?”  
“Shh, don’t move; the medics will be here in a minute.”   
Winter raised her head enough to see what Weiss was doing; she was keeping pressure on Winter’s shoulder. Was she bleeding?  
Before she could try to recall what happened, she slipped back into darkness.

  
  
When Winter awoke again, she awoke in a dull ache. Her entire body was sore, but the pain from her previous moment of lucidity was absent.   
“Winter? Winter can you hear me?”  
Her sister appeared in her vision. Her bridesmaid dress was gone; she was wearing a simple white t-shirt and pants, her left arm in a sling and a nasty bruise took up almost her entire right hand.

“Weiss?” She tried to sit up. “What happened?”  
“What do you remember?” Weiss asked, handing her a drink of water. Winter drank what she could before pushing the drink away as she began to cough.

“I-I don’t remember anything. I remember…” Winter thought hard. Images of Qrow flashing in her mind. Were they real? Qrow had never been in her room in Atlas, had he?

“A faunus terrorist group sabotaged the wedding,” Weiss explained, sitting on the edge of the bed. “General Ironwood stopped by before; they don’t know how they got past the screening, but it looks like they planted a bomb in the room above the hall. The officiant drugged you; he thinks that was the queue to set off the bomb.”

Winter suddenly felt a rush of fear. “Whitley-”

“He’s fine.” Weiss assured her, “As soon as the bomb sounded I ran for him. He broke his ankle and had a concussion but he’s okay,” She suddenly looked ashamed, her eyes downcast. “I’m sorry,”  
“For what?” Winter asked, surprised.

“I didn’t even try to save you. I used my glyphs to get to Whitley and-”

“This isn’t your fault,” Winter cut her off before she could spiral. “But, if you didn’t save me who did?”  
“Ben. Turns out he carries a shield with him, even on his wedding day. Which was actually pretty lucky. He took most of the impact, but the rocks were coming from every direction, you both took quite a bit of damage.”  
“Is he okay?”  
“His leg was almost cut off,” She said hesitantly, “But he’s fine now! They managed to save it.”  
“How long has it been?”  
“Two days.”  
Winter sighed. “Jacques must be spewing blood; his big day ruined.”

Weiss pursed her lips, looking down at her lap.

“Weiss?” Winter asked.

“He didn’t make it,” Weiss said softly. “The right side of the hall took most of the damage.”  
Winter took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. She had no idea how to feel. He was her father, yes, but he had only ever used that fact to manipulate and control her. Even still, she couldn’t bring herself to feel any kind of joy in the newfound freedom.

“You should get some sleep,” Weiss said. “The drugs are almost completely gone from your system, so your semblance should kick in soon. I’m going to check on Whitley and I’ll be back in a while.”  
Winter nodded, lying back down on the hospital bed. Weiss squeezed her hand once before she left, closing the door behind her.

 

Her childhood house was gone. Her parents were gone. A man she barely knew had almost lost his leg to save her life and the majority of the people in the hall were dead.

But Weiss and Whitley were okay. As selfish as it sounded that was what she clung to – it was all she had left.

 

She hoped her wedding dress was in shreds in the mess of rubble.  


	13. Chapter 13

Qrow boarded the ship back to Vale an hour after he kissed Winter goodbye. He could feel her in his arms, her skin under his hands, her lips against his. His eyes drifted shut and he could see her as he tried to get some sleep.

The chatter and gasps throughout the plane snapped him out of his sleep. He looked out the window over Mantel and frowned; he felt like he had been asleep longer.

Qrow stood, shuffling out of the aisle and walking over to the bathroom. As he returned to his seat he passed a teenage girl with dark purple hair rapidly whispering to her friend. He overheard her say the name ‘Schnee’ and stopped dead in his tracks. Looking around he saw almost every passenger on their scroll, talking to each other.

“Excuse me,” Qrow said, stepping back to the girls’ aisle. “Can I ask what’s going on?” He gestured down to everyone talking.

The girl looked up at him and said the words that sent fear straight into his heart. “There’s reports all over the news; there’s been an explosion at the Schnee manor during the wedding ceremony they were having there.”  
Qrow stumbled slightly, before running to his aisle, forgetting his bag and running towards the back of the ship.

“Sir, you can’t be up here,” An attendant said.

“Open the exit hatch,” Qrow ordered, pulling out his huntsman identification.

The attendants shared wary looks.

“Now!” Qrow shouted. The attendants flinched and ran over to the control panel. Qrow waited just long enough for the door to open and ran, shifting into his avian form and flying swiftly through the piercingly freezing air towards Atlas.

 

 

Two days later and Qrow was sat in a hotel room. All survivors of the attack had been transported to Atlas central hospital and anyone not strictly related to the victims had been kept out of the loop. Qrow had been trying to get a hold of Weiss, of Winter, anyone. Even Jimmy hadn’t answered his calls.

So he sat vigil in his hotel, monitoring the news. Half an hour ago they release the first list of confirmed deaths. Jacque Schnee had been the first name release, and Qrow’s heart sunk.

The second name was Jeffrey Golden, and Qrow frowned in confusion. The third, council member Holly Red.  
Qrow sat up, staring, unblinking at the screen as they listed off names.

Jeremiah Pence.

Christopher Lock.

Ivy Lock.

Snow De lure.

Emily Coal.

Sterling Coal.

 

The list ended and Qrow felt hope grow in his chest. Surely if Winter had died at her own wedding in her own home she would be a priority?

His eyes ached but he kept watching.

Qrow didn’t know when he passed out, but the first thing he did once he regained his senses was to reach for his scroll, searching for any news.

Nothing. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

It wasn’t until midday the next day that he received the call that put an end to his worries.

 _“She’s alive_ ,” Tai said as soon as Qrow answered his scroll. “ _Weiss got in contact with Ruby and Ruby called me to call you.”_  
Qrow slid down against the bed, the relief consuming his entire body. “Thank you,” He managed to get out, closing his eyes. They still burned from staring at the screen for so long. “God Tai, thank you so much,”  
“It’s no problem. Most of the mansion was destroyed in the explosions so they’ll be staying in a penthouse in the city. Winter’s set to leave the hospital tomorrow; Weiss is going to call you then.”  
Qrow nodded. “Thank you.”  
“Get some sleep Qrow. I’ll call you later,”  
“Goodbye,” Qrow hung up, dropping his head against the bed. He felt the weight of the world taken off his shoulders. He managed to shower and get something to eat before getting some real sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

“What the hell is this?” Weiss asked, throwing the piece of paper on the table.

“It’s your contract. Or your sister’s contract, to be exact.” Jorah said. Weiss would have reached over and smacked his face if her arms weren’t in immense pain.

“Winter is still in hospital after her wedding was bombed. We and Ben just lost our fathers and you want to talk about the _marriage?_ ”  
“The Schnee dust company is in serious turmoil right now; Nicholas’ granddaughter was almost killed at her own wedding, in her own home,” He said, his voice dripping with false sympathy, “It needs a strong leader. I’m just trying to ensure it’s in the right hands.”  
Weiss carefully crossed her arms across her chest, “You mean _your_ hands.” It wasn’t a question.

“The contract states that the company only falls to you if your sister marries Benjamin Golden, and unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time to sort this out.”  
“Our father isn’t even in the ground yet.” Weiss snapped. Why couldn’t the roof have crushed this little insect?  
Jorah’s smile turned from falsely pleasant to malicious and patronising. “Weiss, we both know he made this as difficult as possible for you. He might have been pitifully easy to manipulate, but he knew his legalities. This was a game, and the deadline came a lot sooner than you thought.”  
“Maybe. But you aren’t going to win.” Weiss turned and stormed out, leaving the grinning bastard behind. 

 

 

Benjamin had had trouble sleeping since the wedding. He’d been pumped full of morphine, but no amount of drugs could get rid of the nightmares. He had been raised with a silver spoon, and despite working for a weapons company had never seen any real tragedy in person. The wedding had shaken him to his core.  
“You look like hell,”

Ben turned his attention from mindlessly staring out the window to the figure in the doorway.

“Nice to see you too Schnee,” He gave a half smile, sitting up.

“How do you feel?” Winter asked, walking over and sitting in the chair beside his bed.

“Like some asshole just dropped a boulder on my leg.”  
“Technically it was the shield that cut your leg.”

“Technically you passed out before the roof even blew so why don’t you keep your technicalities to yourself,”  
Winter smiled, leaning back in the chair. “I wanted to thank you. Weiss told me what happened.”  
“Yeah, well what kind of groom wouldn’t save his bride?”  
“Nevertheless, I’m grateful.”  
“You’re welcome. So, I guess we won’t be trying that again anytime soon.”  
Winter tried not to panic. “You’re calling off the engagement then?”  
“Do you still want to get married?”  
“I never wanted to get married.”  
“Let me rephrase; are you still interested in getting married for the alliance?”  
“My father put a clause in his will; the company goes to Jorah unless we’re married by the end of the year.”  
“Unfortunate.”  
“Indeed,”  
“So we’re getting married then?”  
Winter didn’t answer for a minute, before looking up at him. “Actually, I have another idea.”


	14. Chapter 14

Weiss almost started laughing in glee when she heard her sister’s idea. A few calls later, and everything was in place.

“I never thought his obsession with appearances would make me so happy one day,” She said, sitting in the living room of the penthouse with her bother and sister.

“Have you heard back from everyone?”  
“They’re all in,” Weiss assured her.  
Winter took a deep breath, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”  
“Hey, we just saved the world. I think we can handle a little law breaking.”

Winter smiled, leaning forward to look at the map on the coffee table.  
“Jacques lawyer was killed in the explosion, so the office is closed until Monday,” Weiss began, “which means we have three days to break into the office and destroy any records.”  
“What about Jorah? He’s bound to have made copies by now, even if all he had was that one piece of the contract; it has our signatures on it.”  
“Well, we have three options,” Weiss said in a way that told Winter she wasn’t going to like the aforementioned options.

“Which are?”  
“One, we can kill Jorah,”  
“That’s good, let’s do that one,”  
“We’re not murderer’s Winter.”  
“God you’re such a baby, fine what are the other options.”  
“You seduce him,”  
“I’m going to kill you too.”  
“Three is we break into the security box he has in the Atlesian bank, which is definitely where he’s keeping the copies.”  
Winter stared at her sister, opening her mouth then closing it again, “Why didn’t you start with that?!” She asked.

“Because Whitley came up with the other two without knowing I knew where he was keeping the documents and I wanted to see how you would react.”  
Winter rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “I hate you.”  
“It was funny.”  
“Shut up.” She checked her scroll. “Okay, it’s time for you to leave,”  
“I’m going,” Weiss said, standing and grabbing her bag.

 

 

 

Winter sat in the Platinum Room, tapping the back of her left hand with her right index finger, a look of complete neutrality on her face. Jorah sat opposite her, going over the document.

“Well,” he said, closing the file, “this is quite a deal Winter,”  
“Ms Schnee, to you.” Winter corrected him tersely. She said no more, and Jorah clasped his hands together, putting them on the table in front of him. “Allow me to clarify; you and your sister are willing to relinquish half of your inheritance and your penthouse, and in exchange I destroy any documents I have of my rights to the company?”  
“Correct,”  
“Well that’s an interesting compromise. However, that seems like a pittance compared to what I would gain as head of the company.”  
“If you don’t take the deal, we will take this matter to court. The simple fact he left the company to you is a breach of the contract of my marriage.”  
Jorah put of a show of thinking over his options, and Winter was unnerved at how much he reminded her of her father.

As Jorah opened his mouth to speak, the door to their room opened.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Qrow said, and Winter was taken off guard at the sight of him; his hair was styled like a professional business man, and he wore a double-breasted suit with a satchel on his shoulder. He was wearing _glasses._ Winter had to ask Ruby and Weiss how they managed to convince him to dress like that.

“Who are you?” Jorah demanded, the first hint of annoyance in his voice.

“I’m Ms Schnee’s security,” Qrow said, sitting beside Winter and fussing with his bag. “To ensure all remains fair,”  
“Well that seems a bit underhanded; I thought this was a private meeting.”

“You’re trying to swindle me out of my family’s hard-earned legacy,” Winter said, her tone controlled but conveyed the anger she felt at the situation, “My grandfather died to build this company, so you’ll forgive me for taking precautions.”

“Well by all means Ms Schnee, take it me to court. See, something you don’t know about me is that, unlike your father, I’m more than happy to take a risk, especially with a pay off as large as the key to Atlas.”

“I was worried you would say that,” Winter held her hand out, and Qrow pulled a single piece of paper from his bag. Winter took it and placed it on the middle of the table.

“What’s this?” Jorah asked, picking up the paper and scanning it. A flicker of confusion and panic flashed across his face, and while it was quickly replaced with his usual aloof demeanour, it was still clear as day in his voice.

“How did you get this? All the documents were destroyed in the explosion.”  
“I know,” Winter said. “that is your copy. The one you threatened my sister with. You see,” Winter sat forward, resting her forearms on the cold, metal table, “there isn’t a lot I don’t know about you Jorah; you’ve been skulking around my family for too long, so I did my research. You’ve never been very popular with your classmates, have you?”

Jorah glared at her, a hint of a scowl on his lips.

“They were more than happy to give up any dirt they had on you. All those little details added up to a tapestry of one devious little snake.”  
“What does that have to do with anything?” He snapped. “How did you get this paper? It was in my safe at home.”  
“We also have the ones you put in the safety deposit box in the Atlas Capital Bank,” Qrow piped up.

“How?!”

“My sister is quite the talker,” said Winter. “Getting into the bank was easy enough when you have my kind of connection. A few forged signatures later and she was in.”  
“But she would have needed a key-!”

“And she had one. Of sorts.” She held up her hand, a small, black glyph appearing in her palm. “Something I discovered rather early on; you’re not a big fan of technology, having been raised in the middle of Nowhere, Vacuo. It was a safe bet you’d forgone an electronic box.”

Jorah was almost shaking in anger.

“As for your apartment,” Winter continued, “A dear friend of my sisters is quite stealthy. Qrow here disarmed the alerts on your back window, she broke in and placed a camera under your desk. We caught you putting in the code, returned this morning and took the files from your safe. That’s why Qrow was late, actually,”  
Jorah spluttered for a minute, breathing heavily.

“But… But I have a security system! How did the security camera not see you?”  
“Well,” Winter said, sitting back in her chair, resting her right elbow on the arm of her chair, propping her head up on her hand. “That was just bad luck.”

Qrow smirked beside her, laughing silently.

“You…You-”

“You should have taken the deal,” Winter sighed. “Here’s the new deal; you’re going to get up, go back to your apartment, and get the hell out of my city.”

“You can’t do this!” Jorah cried, jumping to his feet and slamming his hand on the table.

“I just did,” Winter said, calmly getting to her feet, gathering the documents. “Now get the hell out of my sight.”  
Jorah glared fiercely at her, storming over to the door.

“One last thing,” Winter called as he gripped the door handle. She looked over at him, “If you ever so much as look at my sister again, I’ll carve your eyes out of your head.”  
Jorah gave no response and walked out a moment later.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Winter collapsed into the seat, and began coughing. Qrow put his hand on her back, waiting out the fit.

“Are you okay?” He asked as she caught her breath. Winter nodded, leaning back in her seat.

“I’m starting to think I should have stayed in the hospital another day,” She said, clutching her chest.

“Come on; let’s get back to the apartment.” He helped her stand, walking her out of the room into the street. Winter vowed to herself there and then, that she would never set foot back in the Platinum room.

 

  
“This is all very impressive,” Ben said, turning the page in Weiss’ large work binder.

“Thank you,” Weiss smiled. “And thank you again for agreeing to stop by.”  
“It’s the least I can do after you got me out of the marriage; no offense to your sister.”  
“None taken. So, you think it will work?”  
“I think with the foundation you have, this is a brilliant idea. With all the damage your family name had taken under your father’s administration a complete restart is what the company needs.”  
“Ugh can you two shut up?” Qrow moaned from the living room. “We’re tryna sleep.”

Weiss looked at the clock. “Oh, sorry,” She said sheepishly, seeing the time read 10:23 pm.

“I should go,” Benjamin said, “My flight leaves early tomorrow. Feel free to call me with any questions you have. I look forward to doing business with you miss Schnee.”  
“Oh my God shut up,” Whitley mumbled loudly.  
“Why is no one in their bedroom?” Weiss called back.

“Titanic is on.” Qrow called back sleepily, “I’ve never seen it.”  
Weiss rolled her eyes.

“Take care Weiss,”  
“You too,”  
Benjamin turned and limped out of the house. He was using a cane to support himself as his leg was still healing. He passed the living room and said goodbye to Whitley and Qrow; Winter was fast asleep, tucked into Qrow’s side.

Benjamin barely knew her, but he hoped she was happy with him. He had met Qrow briefly that afternoon, and it had been uncomfortable to say the least. He couldn’t wait to be back in the normality of Vale.

 

Weiss tucked her binder into it’s spot on the shelf in her bedroom as she walked in, then made her way over to the bed, where Ruby lay. Her girlfriend was lying on her stomach, flicking through a book.

“How did it go?”  
“He likes the idea,” Weiss smiled, lying down beside her. “I’m glad he’s not marrying Winter, but it’ll be nice to have a business mentor.”  
“Yeah he seemed nice. What’s going on with Qrow and Winter, by the way?”  
“No idea, they’ve been in the living room with Whitley all day. I don’t know if they’ve actually spoken privately since we got the company back.”  
“I hope they’re okay,”  
“Well she’s asleep on top of him right now so they’re probably fine,”

“Good,” Ruby said, then yawned. “Can we go to bed now?”  
“I said you didn’t have to wait up for me,” Weiss pointed out, pulling the blankets back and getting into bed. Ruby got in beside her, wrapping her arms around Weiss. Weiss played with Ruby’s hair, thinking.

“Can you imagine having to watch each other marry someone else?” She asked softly.

“If how Qrow reacted if any indication I don’t want to imagine,” Ruby answered sadly. “I’ve never seen him so sad.”  
“Winter was miserable. She got drunk,”  
“Really?” Ruby asked, shocked. She was more than aware of Weiss and her sister’s aversion to alcohol.

“Yeah, the night before the wedding.”  
“Qrow tried to drink,” Ruby said in a small voice, “He ended up getting sick.”  
“They need each other,”  
“Well it all worked out in the end. Not a bad ‘happily ever after’.”  
“No,” Weiss agreed, reaching over and turning off the light, then rolling over to hug Ruby. “Not bad at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ: So I wrote this a few different ways before ending up with this.  
> Are you guys interested in an epilogue? I was thinking a few years later but I don't know.  
> Anyway I hope you like it, please leave a comment down below.

**Author's Note:**

> So what do you guys think? please leave a comment if you like


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